Patti Scialfa, E Street Band mate and wife of Bruce Springsteen, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, in 2018. She made the revelation, according to Variety, in the new documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which premiered on Sunday night at the Toronto Film Festival.
Scialfa shared that the cancer is why she’s been performing less, including on Springsteen’s current world tour, which continues into July 2025.
“This affects my immune system, so I have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go,” Scialfa, 71, said in the film.
What is multiple myeloma?
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells, which are found in the soft, spongy bone marrow at the center of bones. It is rare—the average lifetime risk in the U.S. is less than 1% (about 1 in 103 for men and 1 in 131 for women), and it’s expected that there will be about 35,780 new cases in 2024, according to the American Cancer Society. It most frequently affects males of African descent over 45, according to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), and though it may be caused by certain genetic mutations, they are not hereditary, and instead tend to develop with age.
Healthy plasma cells make antibodies that are important for immunity. But with multiple myeloma, cancer cells crowd out the normal cells and create an abnormal antibody called M protein, high levels of which indicate the malignancy, according to the MMRF. It also causes a decrease in red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, which can cause anemia, lessened immunity and can lead to kidney damage. The cancer, which forms a tumor or tumors, can also cause bone pain and weakened bone spots that can lead to fractures.
What are the signs of multiple myeloma?
Early-stage signs are vague and mimic many other issues, notes the MMRF, but can include anemia, bone damage, lessened immunity, decreased kidney function, and high levels of calcium in the blood, all of which can be detected through urine and blood tests by your doctor. Also indicative are elevated M protein levels—not routinely screened for and typically discovered accidentally while trying to diagnose another issue. But in the absence of other criteria, elevated M protein can point to what’s known as a multiple myeloma precursor condition.
How is multiple myeloma treated?
While it was not clear whether Scialfa is in remission or still under treatment, there are a range of ways the cancer is treated. The specifics of that treatment are largely based on the stage of the disease, determined by diagnostic testing.
The initial goal is to provide symptom relief and quickly reduce the amount of myeloma cells in the body. Treatment typically begins with a multi-drug regimen (including a steroid and a proteasome inhibitor), called induction therapy, over several weeks. Other possible treatments, depending on many individual factors, may include high-dose chemotherapy followed by an autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT), which uses the patient’s own stem cells, collected from the bloodstream.
Other treatment options may include oral immunomodulatory drugs, which affect the immune system; man-made antibodies; radiation; and immunotherapy.
What is the prognosis for a person with multiple myeloma?
As the MMRF website stresses, “Just as every person is different, every multiple myeloma diagnosis is unique. Survival statistics can be informative, but they do not provide the entire picture.”
That said, the five-year relative survival rate of myeloma patients diagnosed between 2014 and 2020 is 61.1%.
Scialfa has already lived for six years with the disease. “Every once in a while, I come to a show or two and I can sing a few songs on stage, and that’s been a treat,” she said in the film. “That’s the new normal for me right now, and I’m OK with that.”
More on cancer:
- 5 lifestyle changes can significantly reduce your cancer risk, from giving up drinking to wearing sunscreen
- Cancer patients face grave financial barriers to care: 'There is this dramatic loss of income'
- Global cancer rates are expected to rise 77% by 2050. From aging to alcohol, here's why
